1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to needle assemblies and, more particularly, to needle assemblies for accessing a stopper vial without the need for inverting the vial.
2. Description of Related Art
In the medical field, fluid transfer devices, particularly, vial access devices are commonly used to draw medicaments from medical vials in order to fill syringes. Medical vials are well known in the medical field and typically include a pierceable septum and a medicinal fluid. Vial access devices typically include a syringe having a syringe body, a plunger assembly, and a needle or cannula hub assembly. Typically, the needle assembly includes a needle or cannula configured to pierce a septum of a vial and a needle hub which can be removably attached to the syringe body. The needle or cannula can be formed from metal or plastic. After medical fluid has been withdrawn from a medical vial into the syringe, the needle hub assembly can be removed from the syringe body, such that, an intravenous catheter or a syringe needle may be connected to the filled syringe to deliver the medicament into a patient.
There are certain medicaments, which are stored in vials, that should not be physically disturbed, e.g., by inverting the vial to access the medicament that remains in the bottom portion of the vial. Current medical practice requires the use of a relatively long cannula assembly, e.g., about 1.5 inches, to access the bottom portion of such a vial. Although, plastic needles are desirable because they present less of a risk of needle-stick injury, plastic needles are weaker than metal needles and generally can be no longer than about ½ inch in length before their diameters become unreasonably large. Thus, plastic needles cannot be used to access such vials because of their weakness.
Accordingly, a continuing need exists in the medical arts for a fluid transfer device which can access vials greater than ½ inch in depth, while at the same time being less likely to cause needle stick injuries.